10‭ ‬Ways to Be Productive with Backpack

‬37signals‭’ ‬online organizer tool,‭ ‬‬Backpack ‬has been a favorite with GTD geeks and web workers for some time now.‭ ‬It’s sleek,‭ ‬it’s cool,‭ ‬it’s got all kinds of Ajaxy goodness.‭ ‬And it can be used in many different ways to make you more productive.‭

‬There are a million uses for Backpack,‭ ‬but what follows is a list of‭ ‬10‭ ‬productive uses for them.‭ ‬Why use Backpack‭? ‬As a web worker,‭ ‬you need a tool that you can access any time,‭ ‬anywhere‭ ‬–‭ ‬not just from your home computer.‭ ‬And Backpack is a great tool because of its intuitive,‭ ‬easy-to-use interface.‭ ‬It’s also versatile and seriously useful.

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‬10‭ ‬Productive Uses for Backpack‭

Capture.‭ ‬If you’re a fan of writing down every thought,‭ ‬idea,‭ ‬task and fancy that pops into your head‭ ‬–‭ ‬and if you’re not,‭ ‬you should consider it‭ ‬–‭ ‬you might carry a paper notebook everywhere you go.‭ ‬And paper is great,‭ ‬but you’re less likely to use it when you’re at your computer,‭ ‬or using your laptop or mobile device.‭ ‬And if you’re driving,‭ ‬it’s seriously hard to jot down ideas.‭ ‬Enter Backpack.‭ ‬At your computer,‭ ‬you can quickly pop open your Backpack front page‭ (‬name it‭ “‬Inbox‭”) ‬and jot down a new note.‭ ‬Now all your notes are in one place,‭ ‬neat and organized,‭ ‬and you can easily paste them into other documents if needed.‭ ‬And when you’re on the road,‭ ‬you can use‭ ‬cell phone notes for Backpack ‭‬–‭ ‬it’s a free service,‭ ‬and you can call a toll-free number‭ (‬U.S.‭ ‬and Canada‭) ‬and leave a voice note,‭ ‬which is then forwarded to your Backpack page.
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To-dos.‭ ‬We’re always looking for a better to-do list.‭ ‬Backpack works as well as the best of them,‭ ‬because it’s simple.‭ ‬Enter a new item,‭ ‬drag and drop them around,‭ ‬check off the completed ones.‭ ‬No fancy fields to enter info.‭ ‬And for GTD fans,‭ ‬you can manage multiple to-do lists in a snap.‭ ‬Create mini-lists for your calls,‭ ‬work tasks,‭ ‬errands,‭ ‬home tasks and more.‭ ‬Now,‭ ‬when you need to do something,‭ ‬just look at the appropriate context list,‭ ‬instead of looking at a huge long list that you have to scan through.‭ ‬And this to-do list is accessible from anywhere,‭ ‬unlike one you might save on your computer.‭

Mobile productivity.‭ ‬If you have a Treo,‭ ‬mobile phone,‭ ‬or wireless PDA with a web browser that can display basic HTML,‭ ‬you can use a slimmed-down version of Backpack on your phone.‭ ‬Just enter‭ ‬/mob at the end of your page’s url,‭ ‬and you can get it without all the Ajax.‭ ‬Using your mobile device,‭ ‬you can now view all of your pages,‭ ‬add list items and notes,‭ ‬make a new page,‭ ‬and view and add reminders.‭ ‬And you can send yourself text messages and alerts from Backpack,‭ ‬so you’ll never forget anything again.‭ ‬That means you can be productive from anywhere.‭ ‬Or don’t be productive,‭ ‬but at least know what you aren’t doing.‭

Reminders.‭ ‬A cool little feature on Backpack,‭ ‬the reminders can be especially useful.‭ ‬A client wants you to check back in a week‭? ‬Enter a quick reminder and forget about it.‭ ‬Need to send an invoice on the‭ ‬30th‭? ‬Have a deadline in a fortnight‭? ‬Don’t want to forget your wedding anniversary for the third straight year‭? ‬Set a reminder.‭ ‬And they’re super easy to do:‭ ‬just enter the reminder and a date,‭ ‬and you’re done.‭

Project planning.‭ ‬One of the seriously useful ways to use Backpack.‭ ‬A complicated project could require a bunch of lists,‭ ‬notes,‭ ‬photos,‭ ‬links,‭ ‬a timeline and more.‭ ‬You can put those all on one page in Backpack,‭ ‬and keep everything organized.‭ ‬Use reminders and the calendar feature to keep the project moving along and on time.‭ ‬Attach files you might need to reference later.‭ ‬Here’s an example‭ ‬of a wedding planned using Backpack.‭ ‬And you can share the project page with others who might also be working on it.‭

Simple collaboration.‭ ‬There are more feature-filled collaboration tools out there‭ (‬37signals‭’ ‬Basecamp being one of the more popular ones‭)‬,‭ ‬but if your collaborative needs are simple,‭ ‬Backpack has a‭ “‬writeboard‭” ‬feature.‭ ‬Invite people to collaborate on a document,‭ ‬and multiple people can edit it,‭ ‬comment on it,‭ ‬and see changes from previous versions.‭

All lists.‭ ‬Keep all your lists in one place.‭ ‬A list of ideas,‭ ‬articles to check out,‭ ‬goals,‭ ‬checklists,‭ ‬schedules.‭ Your waiting-for list (for follow-up), your someday/maybe list, your dreams. ‬By keeping them all in one page,‭ ‬things stay simple and organized.‭ ‬No more little Post-it notes all over the place,‭ ‬no more flipping through your notebook looking for that grocery list,‭ ‬no more writing down a list of goals and forgetting about them.‭ ‬I like to keep a growing list of article or blog post ideas that I refer to every day.‭

‬Log.‭ ‬Backpack is great for logs.‭ ‬I do an exercise log,‭ ‬an articles log‭ (‬for invoicing later‭)‬,‭ ‬a work log.‭ ‬It’s a very simple and fast way to log anything‭ ‬–‭ ‬just open the page,‭ ‬enter,‭ ‬and get out.‭ ‬And now you have a record of it for later,‭ ‬which is hugely useful.‭ ‬The key is making it a habit to log things as soon as you’re done doing them.

Today.‭ ‬One thing that works well for me is creating a‭ “‬Today‭” ‬page and making it your home page‭ (‬you could also make your‭ “‬Inbox‭” ‬your home page‭)‬.‭ ‬On this page,‭ ‬just put three things you want to accomplish today.‭ ‬I like to put an inspiring quote or poem and photo.‭ ‬And I usually have an‭ “‬agenda‭” ‬list for a couple of key people in my life‭ (‬boss,‭ ‬wife,‭ ‬not in that order‭)‬,‭ ‬where I keep a list of things I need to talk to them about.‭ ‬Don’t dump everything on this page.‭ ‬Just a few key things you need to do today.‭ ‬Everything else that comes up,‭ ‬you can shunt into your inbox or to-do lists.‭ ‬At the end of the day,‭ ‬review your Today page,‭ ‬and if you’ve checked off those‭ ‬2-3‭ ‬things,‭ ‬you were successful‭! ‬I try to clear off my Today page every day.